On my way home from work today, I stopped at the auto parts store and picked up a tube of high-temp red rtv gasket maker. When I got home, before I did anything else, I turned on the water supply to the machine, and wonder of wonders, there were no leaks! Perhaps the threat of rtv was all that was needed. I guess 24hrs was enough time to allow the teflon gasket to reseat itself. I used the manual fill control to put the boiler level about half way between min and max. No leaks yet, but that's an easy one.

I hooked up the power to the boiler and pressure stat so I could do a boiler pressure test. A previous owner had substituted a 15A plug for what most certainly should have been a 20A, and since I didn't have the new plug installed yet (or the 20A outlet run yet), I disconnected one of the heating elements for the test. Looking good, pressure starting to build and still no leaks.



Pressure up to 1.2 bars, and the PS clicked off. Steam check:



The only leak I found was from the brand new safety valve, which started emitting wisps at around 1 bar. A little pressure on the tip with a screwdriver stopped it, but when the pressure was removed, it started again, although to a lesser degree. When the boiler cools, I'll lift up on the pin and see if reseating it helps. I just bought the valve - I wouldn't expect it to do this. Wisps of steam are hard to photograph:



All in all, a pretty successful first test. I don't expect to get to the brew path high pressure testing for a week or so, but it will be something to look forward to after Christmas vacation.

Looking really good. Enjoy reading this with my morning espresso from my restored Elektra T1. I've insulated the boiler and I'm running on 2/3 boiler power with a 15 amp plug instead of 20 right now. We rebuilt the kitchen this summer and I may change the boiler back to full power. There is little need to do so, as it steams like a freight train and recovers really quickly.

BTW: The local OSH has stainless steel bolts around here (in both metric and imperial sizes too). Perhaps there is one near you?

Mark

Today, I finished-up the re-assembly, and the machine is heating now for it's first shot (first by me anyway). The external pump was the last thing I worked on before attaching the panels. I used a twist-lock plug and receptacle between the machine and motor so that it could be detached easily.





And here is the machine fully assembled and ready to go.





I still need to re-attach the Laurentis labels on the front and back. I planned to use 3M 77 adhesive, unless someone has another recommendation?

Auto paint shops will have heavy duty thin double sided tape for auto emblems. Type 77 adhesive may not be so great with higher temps, I only use it in room temp applications.

-Cecil

Hey Ross, it looks great! I love the paint job!

Did you program the volumetric buttons yet? I can't seem to figure out how to do that

godlyone wrote:Hey Ross, it looks great! I love the paint job!

Did you program the volumetric buttons yet? I can't seem to figure out how to do that

Thanks! I've not tried re-programming the dosing buttons - they're still set to the previous owner's settings. I'll probably try it tomorrow sometime. One thing you might check is your flowmeter. I had a bad on on my Pasquini, and when trying to program that group resulted in similar symptoms as yours. If the flowmeter isn't pulsing, you won't be able to program the buttons. Does it's LED flicker when running water through the group?

Ross Leidy wrote:I still need to re-attach the Laurentis labels on the front and back. I planned to use 3M 77 adhesive, unless someone has another recommendation?

I'd use the 3M Super Weatherstrip Adhesive: http://www.shop3m.com/60455029961.html It will stand up well to the heat & you can usually find it at Napa.

CRCasey wrote:Auto paint shops will have heavy duty thin double sided tape for auto emblems. Type 77 adhesive may not be so great with higher temps, I only use it in room temp applications.

-Cecil

JohnB. wrote:I'd use the 3M Super Weatherstrip Adhesive: http://www.shop3m.com/60455029961.html It will stand up well to the heat & you can usually find it at Napa.

Thanks for the suggestions, guys. I'll see what I can find at the local auto-parts store.

Ross Leidy wrote:Thanks! I've not tried re-programming the dosing buttons - they're still set to the previous owner's settings. I'll probably try it tomorrow sometime. One thing you might check is your flowmeter. I had a bad on on my Pasquini, and when trying to program that group resulted in similar symptoms as yours. If the flowmeter isn't pulsing, you won't be able to program the buttons. Does it's LED flicker when running water through the group?

Hmm, i looked today and the LED is on, but I don't see it flickering per say. Let me know when you get a chance to try programming yours.

godlyone wrote:Hmm, i looked today and the LED is on, but I don't see it flickering per say. Let me know when you get a chance to try programming yours.

I just tried programming one of the buttons for a short flush, and it appears to have worked. I used the same process that you did. During your rebuild, did you disassemble the flowmeter? It's possible that the meter vane spinner is stuck due to scale. If you haven't done it already, open it up and make sure there are no obstructions.